Working as a Chef in Sri Lanka

Restaurants, hotels, clubs, pubs, cafes, cafeterias and catering companies are the main areas where you’ll find work as a Chef. As Sri Lanka is one of South Asia’s top tourist destinations, the services industry is feeling the effects of the increased tourism in the country. As the services and tourism industry tend to go hand-in-hand. When one goes up the other follows.

If you are working as a Chef you probably already know that the main purpose of the job is to prepare meals and food for customers and guests to eat – the main meals places cater for are lunch and dinner, but you can find establishments that offer breakfast as well. That’s only half of the equation though, if you’re a Chef you’ll most likely need to prepare the menu for the restaurant as well. If you’re a hard worker and willing to learn, you’ll find some excellent career prospects working in as a Chef in Sri Lanka. Preparing the menu also requires management of fresh products, operations and even at times the logistics of movement and storage of food.

The way to start work as a Chef is to begin with the basics. Working in the kitchen as either an apprentice, kitchen hand, cook or even dishwasher. Working from the bottom up is the best way to learn the basics and get a feel for how the entire process works. A lot of restaurants and senior Chefs are happy to take on apprentice/trainee Chefs to help with the workload and to develop a person’s skills. Working closely with an experienced Chef is the best way to finesse your skills, watching an expert up close will really accelerate your career development.

Responsibilities at a glance

Working as a Chef is serious business, particular attention needs to be paid to health and safety regulations for both your employees as well as your customers – you don’t want to give anyone food poisoning. Which means you’ll need to be fastidious in your cleanliness and safety precautions. As well as that your responsibilities as a Chef will likely include (but aren’t limited to):

Design food presentation and menu

Prepare and cook the food

Estimate costs associated with the menu

Monitor sanitation of supplies and work environment

Inspect supplies to ensure quality standards are met

Oversee and instruct other kitchen staff when preparing food

While this list isn’t complete, it does give a good overview of what exactly a Chef will be responsible for in a typical restaurant setting. It’s important to remember that the scope of your duties will vary widely depending on where you end up working. If you’re working in the hotel industry, the scale of your work requirements will be immense when compared to a small restaurant.

Required skills

In order to work as a Chef there are no specific educational requirements. You do not need to complete a University degree to be considered for a position. The most important qualification to find the best Chef opportunities will be based on your experience. Most Chefs will have undergone years of training, either through an apprenticeship or an internship. Even once they complete their training, an individual will still be considered a junior Chef, the most senior Chefs will have worked in the industry for many years.

If you’re looking to get started in a career as a Chef there’s no time like the present. Have a look at Everjobs.lk to see what some of the best opportunities are. However, if you’re an experienced Chef who is looking to move to the next level or to find your next opportunity look no further than here, register now on everjobs.lk.